


If Only

by chulibels



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst, Childhood Memories, Drama & Romance, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Light Angst, M/M, Nostalgia, Pining, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:54:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25923931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chulibels/pseuds/chulibels
Summary: They were no longer children, the two of them. Playing house was over for Junhui.Wonwoo had come to realize this.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo & Wen Jun Hui | Jun, Jeon Wonwoo/Wen Jun Hui | Jun, Kim Mingyu/Wen Jun Hui | Jun
Comments: 13
Kudos: 57





	If Only

**Author's Note:**

> This was partly inspired by Hwang Minhyun's song _Universe_.

"Ah... What should I do, Wonu? I've loved him since forever and now... Now we're going to be building a home together. Can you believe it? I'm... I'm so happy."

Junhui hugged the serving tray into himself, gripping it close against his chest, the top half covering the lower part of his face. What it failed to conceal was the fierce shade of red spreading throughout the expanse of soft cheeks, traveling all the way up to the delicate tips of his ears. 

Adorable embarrassment. Sweet and shy in summer. 

It made Wonwoo sick. 

Not of Junhui, no. Never. Not in this lifetime nor in the many million lifetimes to follow. 

It was the other thing. The marriage thing. 

"S-shut up. Don't you ever call me melodramatic. I already know that without you telling me."

"But I didn't say anything," Wonwoo held both his hands up, a gesture of willingness to prove one's own lack of guilt. 

"Not with words, no. But your eyes, Wonu, your eyes! They tell it all! 'There he goes again, that Moon Junnie, being all melodramatic over the-" Here, the redness in his face intensified once more as he bashfully claimed, "-most perfect man to have ever existed.' I bet that's what you were thinking, wasn't it?"

"Now you _are_ being melodramatic." Wonwoo coolly sipped the newly ordered espresso. Bitter and black like some underlying feelings. "Auntie is a counter away you know. I can report you. Harassing a customer and slacking on the job..." 

"It's my breaktime, I'm allowed to harass. You specifically," Junhui stuck out his tongue. Imposingly, he sat himself down on the rustic vintage chair opposite Wonwoo, tray set on the table. "Seriously though, I can't help gushing about him, okay? Only a month to go before the wedding and I'm just so... so overwhelmed. Tell me, Wonu, how does one contain these emotions?"

Hell if he knew. Between the two of them, who should be the one really asking?

But those were unkind words and Junhui did not deserve unkind. 

"That's normal. Everything'll be fine." Another long sip before primly setting his cup down on its saucer. "You two have finally settled on a property, haven't you?"

With bright stars for eyes, Junhui clapped his hands together as if in reverent prayer. "Oh, Wonu, I think I've never been so enamored with a place before! The rooms are spacious and there's this lovely garden. I'm not crazy for the backyard court I have to admit, but the pool is big enough, plus there's a fancy treehouse for when we finally have the twelve children he dreams about..." 

_A treehouse..._

"Ah! Remember when we were kids? When we used to play house up that treehouse in _nǎinai's_ backyard? Half the time you were my wife."

"Much to my chagrin." 

"Heh-heh. You must admit though, you looked cute wearing that purple apron with _Barbie_ 's face on it. Remember? The one you would use when cooking imaginary food? I've still got pictures stored in the family albums."

"Tsk, curse the working condition of your camera that day, Uncle," Wonwoo muttered to the side in fake resentment. "Hmm, speaking of Uncle, I do remember your habit of regularly spiriting away his ties. You always had them on when playing the husband."

"Ugh, please don't remind me," Junhui groaned. "Dad went completely ballistic after I accidentally tore his favorite necktie. You should have seen _bàba's_ face back then. It was super scary I still have nightmares about it."

"Not as scary as cooking imaginary food with the _Barbie_ apron I bet. I still have nightmares about it."

A musical giggle permeated the space within the cream-colored walls of the coffee shop. 

The one sound Wonwoo grew to hold an unconditional adoration for throughout the years. He always found himself smiling automatically in response to it.

"Uwaaa. I miss those days." Junhui slumped cozily on the table, head nestling comfortably against the crook of his left arm. He hummed a short tune before glancing up again at Wonwoo beneath long, dark lashes. "Those were good times, weren't they?"

An image of what was inside that once frequented treehouse sprang clearly in Wonwoo's mind. The pile of adventure books. That tiny mailbox substituting for a birdhouse. Clothes and throw pillows strewn everywhere. The small toy piano on the corner. The miscellaneous knick-knacks they collected in the summer. 

What he would give to once again climb up that ancient ladder, one step and then another, with the end result of him reaching out for Junhui's hand. To haul Junhui up with him on top of that sacred place. 

"The best," Wonwoo allowed himself that extent of admission. 

"Mmn." 

After an agreeable silence, Junhui spoke on. 

"Don't you think it's time for you to settle down too, Wonwoo? We aren't getting any younger you know. I think you really need someone to take care of you. Find that true love and go put that ring on her... er, him? It's a him, right?"

_Him, always a him._

"Hmm... I don't think anyone would find me to be an ideal husband. I'm tiresome to be with," he answered, assuming an air of supreme nonchalance. 

"Geez, ever the pessimist! You're selling yourself too short when you have so much on you to offer."

"You think so?" Wonwoo raised a quizzical eyebrow. 

"I know so! Just look at you. If we weren't cousins, I think you'd be the one I'd be married to."

Were there ever any crueler words to leave his heart in an absolute state of crumbling? 

_If only. If only. If only. If only._

_God, if only._

"Oh gosh, wouldn't that be funny?" Junhui laughed in genuine amusement. "You and me?" 

A split second when fingers gripping the cup of black espresso shook. Minute coffee spills stained the pristine tablecloth. 

Even when the floor felt evaporating under his feet, Wonwoo donned his most winsome smile. "Yeah. Imagine me being stuck for eternity with a five-year-old adult. All that headache our blood relationship has thankfully saved me from." 

"Hey! You didn't have to put it that way!" 

Wonwoo extended his arm across the table to flick the other's forehead. 

"Ow!"

"Stupid child," he said warmly. 

Within that small pocket of time, there was a brief respite, songs hummed and espressos savored, until the soft jingle of the café door's bell signaled its new entrant. 

"Hey." 

Junhui's face lit up, the curve of his smile threatening to fly past his ears. In a couple of quick, eager strides, he stretched the distance between him and Wonwoo, and narrowed the one between him and Kim Mingyu. 

"You're early! You should've called me!" Junhui offered his hands, which Mingyu, without delay, clasped. 

"Well, yeah. Took an advance hour off 'cause I wanted to see you as soon as I can." With a boyish grin, slightly crooked yet charming teeth on exhibit, Mingyu declared with a confident affection, "I'm starved for my Hui's company."

If there was a person whose smile never ceased on expanding - bigger and brighter and more brilliant - it was Junhui's. Of course, all that radiance was solely dedicated to a single someone. Wonwoo did not miss the raw earnestness in Junhui's body language as the latter closed the gap between him and Mingyu in a heartbeat, his purpose to meet the expectant lips of his fiancé. 

Wonwoo averted his eyes. Instead, he focused on his coffee cup, which, he only realized, had been sitting empty for a while now. As empty as... 

He shook his head. 

Gone were the days when he could freely pretend Junhui was his, up inside the nostalgic solace of the old treehouse. Within that small room made of wood, only dust remained, accompanied perhaps by the memories of two boys sharing good-natured laughter in the summer. 

They were no longer children, the two of them. Playing house was over for Junhui. 

The promise of the real thing - that future home filled with devout happiness and affection - lay welcomingly before Junhui by the hands of this man whose reverent gaze profoundly spoke of a thousand things. 

_Junhui is my universe_ being first and foremost.

That man was not Wonwoo.

**Author's Note:**

> Aka the fic where GyuHui does PDA in front of a devastated Wonu. Those dum-dums. 
> 
> Also, in Chinese, _nǎinai_ means grandma, while _bàba_ is an informal term for father.


End file.
